


Roses in the Desert

by Rinoa11



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Chess is sexy, F/M, Magic, Wine, arabia au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-26
Updated: 2015-10-26
Packaged: 2018-04-28 07:39:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5083426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rinoa11/pseuds/Rinoa11
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Saeko is the queen of a dying nation. Inundated with countless unwanted marriage proposals from suitors that her council are pressuring her to take. It doesn't help that her brother has a knack for getting himself into trouble. She wishes to help her country heal after the death of their parents and marriage is not the way in her mind, however a magic fan may hold all the answers she seeks and a gorgeous blonde companion.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Roses in the Desert

Saeko sat atop her throne listening to advisor after advisor badmouth her brother, badmouth her country, and badmouth her lack of marriage. It was a daily occurrence for the Queen of this not so fair kingdom. The land had grown frustrated and parched with the lack of water in this desert that had been drying up for years. Ever since her mother had passed thing started to go awry. Her father did his best despite his grief to rule the kingdom alone but the task proved too much for him on his broken heart and he passed not too long after. If Saeko was of a more feminine disposition, she may be inclined to think that it was romantic but the bitterness of the situation could not be masked. Both of her parents were dead, leaving her to rule the kingdom alone with a rascal of a younger brother who masked his grief by going out and causing havoc in the town.

Her stupid, wonderful brother. Tanaka had a mouth that was too big and a swagger that was even bigger. He didn’t take the death of their parents well at all. She didn’t expect him to. A seventeen year old boy, guarded and sheltered by the privilege of his position. Not the brightest in some respects but he shone in combat and strategy. So why did he now choose to get involved in fights in the city when he could be using his energy to train and learn more about the way grand battles worked. He would be such a great general, if only he would focus! But Saeko didn’t blame him. There were many times that she would love nothing more than to ride out as fast as she could as far away from this godforsaken land of sand and heat. Times such as now.

“Your highness you must approve this law. Your highness you have another suitor the king of the fair isles has been asking after your hand along with a multitude of others.” It was frustrating. Did they not have faith in her abilities? Did they not trust that she could manage alone without a husband? So she would smile tersely, her teeth flashing in warning and fire burning deep in her eyes, deep in her soul. “Sir, I do not think now is the time for talks of marriage when we have a drought on our hands” she replied before moving the topic onto the drought and sandstorms that would bring her dear homeland to its knees.

Hours would trickle away like sand in a timer, too quickly for her liking. Arguments would be blocked and not progressed all because she was a woman without a husband at her side. These old fashioned archaic men did not trust in her no matter how many capable ideas she put on the table. No matter how hard she tried to keep up good relations with the people, they would belittle her and shoot her down. Oh Saeko could just scream!

After a long day of fighting she needed a drink, a warrior queen worn from the battle of words. She did not hope to see her brother tonight, not when she was in as foul a mood as this.

Her room was in a secluded part of the castle, overlooking the once radiant gardens that held flowers with a sweet perfume but they had now dried up and withered in the heat. Silks and pillows littered the room, making it a nest of comfort and peace. Bookshelves lined the wall with all sorts of books from philosophy and politics to tales of magic and adventure, all books that her mother had loved and passed on to her with love and care. Saeko treasured these bound gifts dearly.

Unfortunately as she made her way to her special stash of alcohol, picking up a bottle of red wine from her collection, she spotted a pile gifts she did not wish to be there. In her sacred sanctuary some servants (probably at the demands of her advisors) had placed a litany of tributes and proposals on a table for her to peruse at her leisure. She raised the glass of wine to her lips and took a hearty swig before trawling through the meaningless objects.

There were jewels, trinkets and baubles. Pretty shiny things that held no interest to her accompanied with letters proposing how the suitors would make her kingdom better. In some other cases about how they would take her and “free her” from this dying kingdom entirely. Yeah right. As if she’d leave her people. Saeko planned to stick it out until the bitter end, digging her heels in and banging the drums of war. She plucked out a gift from the pile looking upon it with bitterness. It was a simple, slender black lacquer box. She would not be bound to someone who would tie her down. Her frustrations bubbled up inside her as she threw the box onto the bed across the room. It made a large arc in the air, causing the lid to slide off and the gift inside to fall out. It was a beautiful fan made of metal that flew open as it made its trajectory and landed with a thud on the bed.

Saeko turned away to huff and take a sip of her drink before she heard a larger thud and a groan of a man who had landed on her bed next to the fan.

She reached for the sword at her hip (which was only ceremonial but who was he to know?) and drew the blade, angling it towards him. He was a muscular man with golden hair that was pushed back by two leather chords. He looked almost godly in his shirtlessness with only necklaces laden with gems and gold covering his upper half and some baggy silken trousers, which hung heinously low, covering his lower half. It didn’t matter to Saeko that the pinnacle of manhood had appeared dizzy and confused on her bed. He was on her bed and he should not be there!

“Hey hey HEY!” he yelled, hands raised in surrender as she came towards him with the sword in hand, ending up almost on top of him the blade on his throat.

“Who are you, why are you in my room and tell me why I shouldn’t kill you?” she growled at the stranger, leaning into him, causing him to drop one hand and place it behind him so he wouldn’t tumble backwards onto the bed. It landed on the fan and he let out a groan as if everything had finally become clear to him.

He gently held the sword in one hand, trying to nudge it a little further away from his throat and held out the metal fan to her. “This is the reason I’m here. YOU summoned me” he said as if that made the most sense in the world.

Saeko stepped back, still holding her sword defensively, he could be an assassin for all she knew. Her kingdom probably had many enemies from the sheer number of times she has turned away suitors. “What do you mean I summoned you? All I am planning on summoning tonight is another bottle of wine, not some strange man in my bed.”

He let out a groan and a huff and a sigh, smacking his hands to his face before waving the closed fan in front of her again. “No! You summoned me with this!” he tried explaining again, watching as Saeko made her way to sit back on her cushioned floor, now disinterested at the fuss he was making. If she ignored him, maybe he would go away and she would be able to drink in peace. That or he could join her for a drink? Misery loves company after all.

“Do you drink?” she asked pouring another glass for her summoned guest. He nodded and across from her on the cushions, legs crossed wide and accepted the goblet given to him humbly. He sniffed the wine, enjoying its bouquet and took a testing sip before letting out a groan in pleasure. “This is good shit” he declared with a grin, the tense, accusational atmosphere melting away into a mood of calm merriment.

Saeko settled right down and slid her sword back into its scabbard on her hip, removing the scabbard so she could get properly comfortable on her nest of pillows. “So you’re telling me Mr Blondie with a hot body, that I summoned you, with that fan?” she asked gesturing her goblet towards the fan the man held in his hand. He snorted at the name she gave him but nodded again mid sip, trying not to choke on his amusement.

He cleared his throat and took another sip before answering “I’m contractually obliged to come to whoever waves the fan. You waved it so I had no choice but to appear.” Saeko made a noise of understanding, watching the man place the fan delicately on the table as if it was very precious. Saeko let out a huff and leaned right back on the pillows.

“This must be a mistake. There’s no way I should be getting something like that. Stupid suitors are sending me gifts left right and centre and it’s driving me up the wall!” she groaned in complaint. “I don’t know why I have your fan. I didn’t even ask for your fan. To be fair I didn’t ask for ANY of this. I just want to be left alone to try and make sure my kingdom doesn’t starve or die of thirst any time soon.”

He made a noise of understanding and sympathy at her gripes. He didn’t seem like the regular suitor to her, trying to fawn over her and play the game of gaining her affections through usually ridiculous means and promises. Instead he just sat here, casually looking around her room and drinking her wine.

“I can’t fix any of those problems for you” he began stopping as he spotted something sitting next to her bookshelves before getting up and going over to it, picking up the box and placing it on the table in front of them. “But I can keep you company while you drink. Do you like chess?”

Saeko raised an eyebrow in amusement. “I like it enough to have my own board. Just got no one to play it with. My brother’s not really interested in sitting down and thinking about stuff at this age…” Usually she’d be furious at a guy going through her stuff but watching him put together the chessboard calmly before sitting back with pride at his work. The marble pieces of black and white highly contrasted against her rich colourful room.

“So what about you? Who are you and why are you contracted to a fan? White or black?” she asked referring to the chess pieces, watching him adjust his position to lean on his side, sprawling out, jewels brushing against his finely sculpted pecs. The more she thought about it, the more the idea of having a gorgeous male companion might not be so bad. If the council found out about this, they would be in fits. Let them get angry. Let them fume and throw tantrums. She was a grown woman who could appreciate the beautiful male specimen before her. They were going to drink and play chess, not fuck each other’s brains out (although if it was based on looks alone, she wouldn’t exactly cross that possibility out.)

“I’ll take black. Ladies’ first.” He gestured to the board and watched her contemplate her opening move. Sakeo scratched her chin and went to take a sip of her wine, realizing that her glass was empty but her handsome visitor already had the bottle in his hand to pour her another glass of sweet red liquid.

Saeko spoke in a foppish way as she opened the game by moving forward a pawn. “But your name good sir! If you are to be my companion for this evening, I should like to know what I can call you by.” He chuckled and smiled at her formal language, a twinkle forming in his dark eyes at her move on the chessboard. This would be a fun evening.

“You may call me Ukai. There is no more I can tell you for the moment but you can relax in the knowledge that I am unable to harm you, I mean you no ill will nor unwanted marriage propositions. I seek only friendship.” Saeko’s smile widened cattishly and she waited for him to make his opening move.

Time passed like the wine flowed, quickly and enjoyably. Conversations and banter drifted easily between the two of them. Ukai could not handle his drink as well as Saeko could but he still played chess like a master. It made Saeko wonder what he did when he wasn’t being summoned by people with the fan. Was he a king? Was he a general? Was he a tactician? Or was he someone else entirely? What she did know is that the more they drank, the more crass he got, and the more crass he got the funnier and more charming he became in her eyes.

Yet the night had almost ended and the sun began to rise in the east over the desert sand and their game had not ended. In that moment it only just hit Saeko how tired she was, the wine catching up with her and a yawn spilling from her lips. The pillows that they sat on were so incredibly comfortable that she couldn’t help but close her eyes and drift off into a blissful, wine fuelled sleep.

When she awoke Ukai had gone but there was a blanket tucked carefully over her. The chessboard was still set in play from the night before. Next to the board lay the fan in the box, closed neatly on the table. She stood up and felt the pain in her head, her punishment from the drink. Saeko carefully took the box and placed it in her bedside drawers before dressing herself to go greet her brother and the council for the day’s work.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies! This is a new work from me! I love Keishin and Saeko together a lot. I hope you love them too!
> 
> Please let me know what you think! 
> 
> If you want to chat me up I'm on Tumblr and Twitter as Rinoa11
> 
> Have a great day!


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